Draft:Breaking a Promise
Breaking a Promise (Arabic: خلف الوعد) means failing to fulfill a promise, an act condemned in the Qur'an and Islamic narrations. This concept stands in opposition to keeping a promise and differs from violating formal covenants. According to Islamic teachings, God never breaks His promise, and the Ahl al-Bayt (a) also considered keeping promises necessary. In Prophetic narrations, breaking a promise is counted among the signs of a hypocrite.
Despite numerous ethical emphases on the condemnation of breaking promises, the famous view among Shi'a jurists is that breaking a promise is not legally forbidden (haram), but rather reprehensible (makruh). Their argument is based on the practice of the religiously observant; because religiously observant individuals, even during the time of the Infallibles (a), sometimes broke promises and did not consider it a sin. However, jurists have stated that if a person intends from the beginning not to fulfill the promise, this behavior is an instance of lying and is forbidden.
Importance
Shi'a scholars have examined breaking promises in jurisprudence and ethics.[1] In Quranic verses and narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), a true believer is introduced as someone who is faithful to their promises and does not break them.[2] Al-Kulayni, a Shi'a muhaddith, has dedicated a chapter to the topic of breaking promises in his book al-Kafi.[3] In a narration from the Prophet (s), faith in God and the Day of Judgment is considered concomitant with keeping promises,[4] and breaking promises is counted among the signs of a hypocrite. Mahdi Naraqi considers this narration to refer to someone who did not intend to fulfill the promise from the beginning or fails to fulfill their promise without an excuse.[5]
In a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a), a promise made by a believer to another believer is considered like a vow that is binding but has no expiation, and breaking it is disobedience to God and causes divine wrath, being an instance of Qur'an 61:2.[6] Also, Imam Ali (a) in his letter to Malik al-Ashtar warned him against breaking promises, describing it as causing the anger of God and people, citing Qur'an 61:3.[7]
Concept
Breaking a promise means being unfaithful to a commitment that an individual has unilaterally and voluntarily undertaken towards another and refrains from fulfilling.[8] This concept is also referred to as unreliability.[9] Breaking a promise stands in opposition to keeping a promise.[10]
Difference from Breaking a Covenant
Breaking a promise is distinct from Breaking Covenant. Scholars consider breaking a covenant one of the major sins.[11] Jurisprudentially, a covenant ('ahd) refers to a pact a servant makes with God to perform or abandon an action.[12] Researchers view breaking a covenant as referring to non-adherence to a formal agreement, while breaking a promise refers to failing to fulfill a non-contractual commitment.[13]
Impossibility of God Breaking a Promise
According to Morteza Motahhari, based on the consensus of Muslims, God never breaks a promise. The Mu'tazila believe that God adheres to His threats (wa'id) just as He fulfills His promises (wa'd), considering breaking threats also impossible and ugly.[14] God's promise (wa'd) means the announcement of reward, and His threat (wa'id) means the threat of punishment.
The Qur'an in verses Qur'an 13:31 and Qur'an 30:6 announces the inviolability of the divine promise. Allama Tabataba'i considers breaking a promise to stem from a deficiency in will, knowledge, or power, or a state of compulsion; since God is free from any deficiency or compulsion, the occurrence of breaking a promise by Him is impossible.[15] In Qur'an 14:22, a picture of the Day of Judgment is presented where Satan confesses to breaking his promises in the world and calls God's promise true.[16] Based on a narration from Imam al-Rida (a), the Ahl al-Bayt (a) considered their promises as debts that must be paid, just as the Messenger of God (s) did.[17]
Jurisprudential Ruling
According to the famous opinion among Shi'a jurists, breaking a promise is not forbidden (haram),[18] but it is severely reprehensible (makruh).[19] However, if the individual did not intend to fulfill it from the beginning when making the promise, many jurists consider this action forbidden[20] and an instance of lying and deception.[21]
Husayn Mazahiri, a Marja', divides breaking promises into five categories and considers only one type permissible. He considers breaking binding contracts and conditions, as well as promises that cause financial loss, damage to reputation, or waste of others' time, to be forbidden. Only breaking promises that entail no financial or reputational loss or waste of time is considered permissible.[22] Also, if a promise is conditional on a condition that has not yet been fulfilled, or if a religious excuse such as forgetfulness or the individual's consent arises, breaking the promise is permissible.[23]
If a promise relates to performing a forbidden act such as paying usury or Gambling, acting according to that promise is also forbidden.[24] Imami jurists differ on lying promises to one's wife and family; some consider it forbidden and others permissible.[25]
Reason for Permissibility
Some jurists, based on the apparent meaning of verses and narrations, have considered breaking a promise forbidden,[26] yet they have issued fatwas on its reprehensibility (karaha). Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei, a Marja', considers breaking a promise reprehensible given the practice of the religiously observant who sometimes consider breaking a promise permissible.[27]
In Ethics
From an ethical and social perspective, breaking a promise is considered objectionable,[28] and one who does not fulfill their promise deserves blame.[29] In Jami' al-sa'adat, it is recommended to avoid making absolute promises to prevent the negative effects of breaking them, and instead make them contingent upon God's will or other conditions.[30]
Notes
- ↑ Muḥammadiyān, "Jawāz-i khulf-i waʿda dar tarāzū-yi fiqh wa akhlāq", p. 26.
- ↑ Maẓāhirī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil, p. 408.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 363.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 363.
- ↑ Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 2, p. 342.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 363.
- ↑ Sharīf al-Raḍī, Nahj al-balāgha, p. 444.
- ↑ Anṣārī, Al-Mawsūʿat al-fiqhiyya al-muyassara, vol. 13, pp. 584-585; Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 262.
- ↑ "Khulf-i waʿda yā bad-qawlī", Website of Ayatollah Sistani.
- ↑ Maẓāhirī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil, p. 408.
- ↑ Dastghayb, Gunāhān-i kabīra, pp. 327, 331.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān-pazhūhī, vol. 2, p. 1499.
- ↑ Ghaḍanfarī, Akhlāq dar Qurʾān wa sunnat, vol. 2, p. 193.
- ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, vol. 3, p. 75.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 156.
- ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, vol. 4, p. 276.
- ↑ Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, p. 446.
- ↑ Anṣārī, Al-Makāsib, vol. 2, p. 15.
- ↑ Khūʾī, Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn, vol. 1, p. 10; Muḥammadiyān, "Jawāz-i khulf-i waʿda dar tarāzū-yi fiqh wa akhlāq", p. 30.
- ↑ Muḥammadiyān, "Jawāz-i khulf-i waʿda dar tarāzū-yi fiqh wa akhlāq", p. 31.
- ↑ Shubayrī Zanjānī, Kitāb-i nikāḥ, vol. 18, p. 5916.
- ↑ Maẓāhirī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil, pp. 408-409.
- ↑ "Khulf-i waʿda yā bad-qawlī", Website of Ayatollah Sistani.
- ↑ "Khulf-i waʿda yā bad-qawlī", Website of Ayatollah Sistani.
- ↑ Hamadānī, "Shumūl-i adilla-yi ḥurmat-i durūgh nisbat ba khānavāda wa bastagān", pp. 106-107.
- ↑ Khūʾī, Miṣbāḥ al-faqāha, vol. 1, p. 393; Majlisī, Lawāmiʿ-i ṣāḥibqirānī, vol. 6, p. 489.
- ↑ Khūʾī, Miṣbāḥ al-faqāha, vol. 1, p. 393.
- ↑ Shubayrī Zanjānī, Kitāb-i nikāḥ, vol. 4, p. 1124.
- ↑ Muḥammadiyān, "Jawāz-i khulf-i waʿda dar tarāzū-yi fiqh wa akhlāq", p. 36.
- ↑ Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 2, p. 342.
References
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- Anṣārī, Murtaḍā al-. Al-Makāsib. Qom: Kungira-yi Jahānī-yi Buzurgdāsht-i Shaykh-i Aʿẓam Anṣārī, 1415 AH.
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- “Khulf-i waʿda yā bad-qawlī”. Website of Ayatollah Sistani. Accessed October 19, 2025.
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